Silliness Don't mention the 'L' word

alecE · 06-22-2010, 04:06 PM

I was prompted by a recent thread [technical incompetence rules - feel free to edit in the link to "The word liseuse being used outside MobileRead"] to look for words in reasonable currency in English which we'd nicked from the French. The initial investigation showed alarming Topsy tendencies and it just grew...

With apologies to francophiles and francophones everywhere, herewith an initial foray into the adventures of Lisa the Lady Reader. Of course, this being the Llounge, I wouldn't expect anybody to add further chapters, oh no, not at all.....

"I travel in ladies’ lingerie."
I had been searching for an arresting initial statement, though this seemed to carry the scent of an arrestable offence as well. I sipped my champagne as I mulled over the possible interpretations:-
"I am a peripatetic sales-person, promenading from hotel to hotel, vending my samples of feminine underclothing."
"This is a guide, a tour d’horizon of my private erotic life."
"I am in fact a demi monde, a femme fatale, my décolletage somewhat déshabillé in my peignoir." (I could be Aphrodightie, in a mightie flightie nightie, no, je m'en fou.)

Decide for yourself which, if any, of the above is true. For myself, it’s ça ne fait rien.

These musings, whilst doubtless possessed of some intrinsic worth, are not really relevant to the matter in hand. The maître d’ of this restaurant is still waiting patiently for my order. I decide on the prix fixe - I am not in the mood today to dine à la carte. Besides, my attention is still riveted on the beau at the next table.

He is I know, the military attaché from our embassy, with a side-line in acting as agent provocateur within the revolutionary groups for whom the concept of a coup d’état has become an idée fixe. I also know that in the corps diplomatique he is regarded as a parvenu, a nouveau riche, lacking in joie de vivre, his respectability a poor façade to cover his humble origins. But he is so cute in my eyes, positively louche, my sang-froid is melting, I desire an entente cordiale. Should it be a hurried cinq à sept, or a grand passion (Grand Prix?), will it end with a crime passionel?

I give myself carte blanche to be outré with him. He is rumoured to be married, but the concept of a ménage à trios has its attractions too. Perhaps, if it is not too much a cliché, I can suggest a gentle pas de deux on the chaise longue with him? La petite mort before he is rendered hors de combat?

I am interrupted in my day dream by the arrival of my soufflé, I determine on a gastronomic rather than a romantic rendezvous. I end the meal musing on the prospect of combining my interests in good food and macramé into "haute cuitoure" - high-class edible clothing cooked to perfection.

I have reached an impasse; my poor skill as a raconteur is matched only by my willingness to perform a volte-face, seek a new rapport with my audience and indulge in the camaraderie of my friends in the ‘Bayonet Boutique’ - ("military berets and képis a speciality - from fin de siècle to avant garde").

Perhaps I should précis these musings, or subject them to a fierce critique? Or better still, thrust them into the oubliette of forgetting...

GeoffC · 06-23-2010, 04:37 AM

Don't forget the French conquered us in 1066 .... or was that the Viking fringe of the French ?

TGS · 06-23-2010, 04:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Don't forget the French conquered us in 1066 .... or was that the Viking fringe of the French ?

Who's the "us" in that?

GeoffC · 06-23-2010, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TGS

Who's the "us" in that?

England, of course ..... (sorry)

[AlecE is in the UK)

TGS · 06-23-2010, 05:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

England, of course ..... (sorry)

[AlecE is in the UK)

I'm so cosmopolitan that I forget who "we" are sometimes (or perhaps just who I am!)

GeoffC · 06-23-2010, 05:09 AM

my humble mistake to also forget the internationalistic forum upon which we contribute .....

omk3 · 06-23-2010, 06:50 AM

So, shall we play "spot the word's origin" now? Some are blindingly easy, but how about some others?

TGS · 06-23-2010, 10:05 AM

I was going to start of with "zeugma" - trouble is all you have to do is go to wikipedia and there's your answer.

Maybe in a generation or two broad general knowledge will disappear to be replaced by a measure of how quickly someone can type into Google or whatever supersedes it. Einstein is supposed to have quipped "Why bother to remember anything when you can write it down". Perhaps that will become "Why bother to write anything down when someone else will do it for you, stick it on the internet and have a search engine index it."

omk3 · 06-23-2010, 10:12 AM

Still, if everyone thinks like that, who's going to write the wikipedia entries for the lazy of us to quote?

I would have caught the zeugma etymology without wikipedia's help! (maybe it being my native language counts as cheating?) My problem was that I had no idea it was used in english too, so I had to go to wikipedia anyway to check on its english definition(you never know how these things change)

Oh, etymology is another one. And the -pedia part of wikipedia, or the whole of encyclopedia. Fascinating, the journeys of words.

MJK2111 · 06-23-2010, 10:25 AM

"L word"? I was thinking something entirely different.

Shame on me.

Poppa1956 · 06-23-2010, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

my humble mistake to also forget the internationalistic forum upon which we contribute .....

Hey, I caught the reference. I did have to think about it a second or two, since your profile says you hail from Scotland. My bad.

pholy · 06-24-2010, 09:08 PM

Humph... He probably one of the few Scots to refer to the English as 'us'....

GeoffC · 06-25-2010, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pholy

Humph... He probably one of the few Scots to refer to the English as 'us'....

NOPE - I'm from Yorkshire ..... last I saw it was still part of England ....... therefore I can say "us" without any problem (well mostly ....) ....

omk3 · 06-25-2010, 06:03 AM

That explains it!

I once mistakenly said something like "you english people" to a scotman, and had to talk for about 15 minutes more to explain away my mistake (an honest mistake for a foreigner, who just used a collective word for all the people living on this island, but never again!) to erase his look of open hostility

I'm still not sure what is a safe term for everyone in the UK. Is british okay?

GeoffC · 06-25-2010, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by omk3

That explains it!

I once mistakenly said something like "you english people" to a scotman, and had to talk for about 15 minutes more to explain away my mistake (an honest mistake for a foreigner, who just used a collective word for all the people living on this island, but never again!) to erase his look of open hostility

I'm still not sure what is a safe term for everyone in the UK. Is british okay?

Dodgy ......

06-22-2010, 04:06 PM	#1
alecE Evangelist Posts: 412 Karma: 546196 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: UK canal boat Device: sony prs505, prs650, kobo Glo HD liseuses	Don't mention the 'L' word I was prompted by a recent thread [technical incompetence rules - feel free to edit in the link to "The word liseuse being used outside MobileRead"] to look for words in reasonable currency in English which we'd nicked from the French. The initial investigation showed alarming Topsy tendencies and it just grew... With apologies to francophiles and francophones everywhere, herewith an initial foray into the adventures of Lisa the Lady Reader. Of course, this being the Llounge, I wouldn't expect anybody to add further chapters, oh no, not at all..... "I travel in ladies’ lingerie." I had been searching for an arresting initial statement, though this seemed to carry the scent of an arrestable offence as well. I sipped my champagne as I mulled over the possible interpretations:- "I am a peripatetic sales-person, promenading from hotel to hotel, vending my samples of feminine underclothing." "This is a guide, a tour d’horizon of my private erotic life." "I am in fact a demi monde, a femme fatale, my décolletage somewhat déshabillé in my peignoir." (I could be Aphrodightie, in a mightie flightie nightie, no, je m'en fou.) Decide for yourself which, if any, of the above is true. For myself, it’s ça ne fait rien. These musings, whilst doubtless possessed of some intrinsic worth, are not really relevant to the matter in hand. The maître d’ of this restaurant is still waiting patiently for my order. I decide on the prix fixe - I am not in the mood today to dine à la carte. Besides, my attention is still riveted on the beau at the next table. He is I know, the military attaché from our embassy, with a side-line in acting as agent provocateur within the revolutionary groups for whom the concept of a coup d’état has become an idée fixe. I also know that in the corps diplomatique he is regarded as a parvenu, a nouveau riche, lacking in joie de vivre, his respectability a poor façade to cover his humble origins. But he is so cute in my eyes, positively louche, my sang-froid is melting, I desire an entente cordiale. Should it be a hurried cinq à sept, or a grand passion (Grand Prix?), will it end with a crime passionel? I give myself carte blanche to be outré with him. He is rumoured to be married, but the concept of a ménage à trios has its attractions too. Perhaps, if it is not too much a cliché, I can suggest a gentle pas de deux on the chaise longue with him? La petite mort before he is rendered hors de combat? I am interrupted in my day dream by the arrival of my soufflé, I determine on a gastronomic rather than a romantic rendezvous. I end the meal musing on the prospect of combining my interests in good food and macramé into "haute cuitoure" - high-class edible clothing cooked to perfection. I have reached an impasse; my poor skill as a raconteur is matched only by my willingness to perform a volte-face, seek a new rapport with my audience and indulge in the camaraderie of my friends in the ‘Bayonet Boutique’ - ("military berets and képis a speciality - from fin de siècle to avant garde"). Perhaps I should précis these musings, or subject them to a fierce critique? Or better still, thrust them into the oubliette of forgetting...

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06-23-2010, 04:37 AM	#2
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,599 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Don't forget the French conquered us in 1066 .... or was that the Viking fringe of the French ?

06-23-2010, 05:09 AM	#6
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,599 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	my humble mistake to also forget the internationalistic forum upon which we contribute .....

06-23-2010, 06:50 AM	#7
omk3 Wizard Posts: 1,454 Karma: 37243 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Europe Device: pocketbook 360, kindle 4	So, shall we play "spot the word's origin" now? Some are blindingly easy, but how about some others?

06-23-2010, 10:05 AM	#8
TGS Country Member Posts: 9,058 Karma: 7676767 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Denmark Device: Liseuse: Irex DR800. PRS 505 in the house, and the missus has an iPad.	I was going to start of with "zeugma" - trouble is all you have to do is go to wikipedia and there's your answer. Maybe in a generation or two broad general knowledge will disappear to be replaced by a measure of how quickly someone can type into Google or whatever supersedes it. Einstein is supposed to have quipped "Why bother to remember anything when you can write it down". Perhaps that will become "Why bother to write anything down when someone else will do it for you, stick it on the internet and have a search engine index it."

06-23-2010, 10:12 AM	#9
omk3 Wizard Posts: 1,454 Karma: 37243 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Europe Device: pocketbook 360, kindle 4	Still, if everyone thinks like that, who's going to write the wikipedia entries for the lazy of us to quote? I would have caught the zeugma etymology without wikipedia's help! (maybe it being my native language counts as cheating?) My problem was that I had no idea it was used in english too, so I had to go to wikipedia anyway to check on its english definition(you never know how these things change) Oh, etymology is another one. And the -pedia part of wikipedia, or the whole of encyclopedia. Fascinating, the journeys of words.

06-23-2010, 10:25 AM	#10
MJK2111 FUBAR! Posts: 1,946 Karma: 15018767 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Woodstock, IL Device: Kindle 3, Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 S	"L word"? I was thinking something entirely different. Shame on me.

06-24-2010, 09:08 PM	#12
pholy Booklegger Posts: 1,801 Karma: 7999816 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Device: BeBook(1 & 2010), PEZ, PRS-505, Kobo BT, PRS-T1, Playbook, Kobo Touch	Humph... He probably one of the few Scots to refer to the English as 'us'....

06-25-2010, 06:03 AM	#14
omk3 Wizard Posts: 1,454 Karma: 37243 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Europe Device: pocketbook 360, kindle 4	That explains it! I once mistakenly said something like "you english people" to a scotman, and had to talk for about 15 minutes more to explain away my mistake (an honest mistake for a foreigner, who just used a collective word for all the people living on this island, but never again!) to erase his look of open hostility I'm still not sure what is a safe term for everyone in the UK. Is british okay?